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PA Studies graduates post 100% first-time pass rate on national exam
By Kate Hunger
All of the Physician Assistant Studies class of 2019 graduates who took the national certifying exam passed on their first try, making the program’s five-year first-time pass rate average 100%.
Forty-four students took the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) between December and Feb. 1, said PA Studies Program Director, Chair and Assistant Professor Paul B. Allen, Sr., DSc, MPAS, PA-C, FAAPA.
New MLS faculty member has worked around the world
Assistant Professor Terri Murphy-Sanchez, CSMLS, ASCP, has lived and worked in three different countries, a global experience she said was made possible by the medical laboratory science profession.
“I like to think our profession is very portable and a great stepping stone,” said Murphy-Sanchez, who joined the Medical Laboratory Sciences faculty in August 2019.
Inaugural TSAHP student leadership development program kicks off
Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs David Henzi, Ed.D., is co-directing the first student leadership program offered by the Texas Society of Allied Health Professions (TSAHP).
“The goal is to train future leaders in different health profession programs,” Henzi said, noting that the program is interprofessional by design.
Henzi’s co-director is fellow TSAHP board member Lynette Watts, Ph.D., RT(R), associate professor at The Shimadzu School of Radiologic Sciences at Midwestern State University.
School’s new Ph.D. program to launch in Fall 2020
The School of Health Professions is adding a Ph.D. in Health Sciences to help meet the demand for allied health faculty and researchers with doctoral degrees.
The program also will help support evidence-based practice and outcomes research in allied health, said School of Health Professions Dean David C. Shelledy, Ph.D., RRT, FAARC, FASAHP.
“This will be helpful for our school, other schools of allied health in Texas and for colleges and universities around the country,” Shelledy said.
Physical Therapy faculty member publishes article comparing regenerative injections to corticosteroids for treatment of tennis elbow
Regenerative injections are more effective for long-term healing of tennis elbow than corticosteroids, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis by Assistant Professor Julie Barnett, PT, D.P.T., MTC.
PA and OT departments host graduations
The Departments of Occupational Therapy and Physician Assistant Studies held their graduation ceremonies on Dec. 13.
The Occupational Therapy master’s students represented the final class of MOT students to graduate from the Department of Occupational Therapy, which has transitioned from a master’s program to a doctoral program. The ceremony represented a “culmination and a close to our MOT program,” said Associate Professor and Department Chair Bridgette Piernik-Yoder, Ph.D., OTR.
MLS students participate in interprofessional educational experience
First-year medical students and first-year medical laboratory science students learned how to improve communication between clinical staff and the laboratory during an inaugural interprofessional educational experience in November.
“We worked through a few of the common barriers to communication between the clinical staff and the laboratory,” said Assistant Professor Cordelia Kudika, MA, CHS (ABHI), who also is director of clinical education for MLS.
AARP Texas features EHS instructor in video
Department of Emergency Health Sciences adjunct faculty instructor Conrad M. Gonzales, Jr., is featured in a video by AARP Texas.
The video was posted on the AARP Texas Facebook page in September to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. In it, Gonzales shares his personal philosophy.
“I look at it this way: If I can save a life, I have made a difference, and I think that’s my passion – to try to make a difference,” he says.
Speech-language pathology professor, students present at community engagement symposium
A professor and two graduate students from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders’ speech-language pathology program participated in the 2019 Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science (IIMS) Community Engagement Symposium.
PT professor co-authored article that finds increased prescription of medication for patients with KOA
Physical Therapy Assistant Professor Gustavo Almeida, PT, Ph.D., co-authored an article accepted for publication in Arthritis Care and Research that shows an increase in physician prescriptions for medication and a decrease in physical therapy referrals and lifestyle counseling for patients with knee osteoarthritis.
OT alumna receives award from TOTA
Kathryn Crane, OTR, (MOT ’17) received the 2019 Horizon Award from the Texas Occupational Therapy Association at its annual conference on Nov. 2.
The award acknowledges outstanding contributions to the profession by an occupational therapy practitioner who has been in the profession for fewer than five years.
PA students present at international healthcare communication conference
Health insurance can be complicated and intimidating, says Ana Diaz, a Physician Assistant Studies student set to graduate in December.
PA students research the impact of a smartphone app on patients’ health insurance literacy
That’s why Diaz, along with nine Physician Assistant Studies students, two medical students and four pharmacy students, participated in an interdisciplinary, community service-learning project aimed at increasing community health literacy. Their goal: To test the effectiveness of a smartphone app designed to improve community health insurance literacy in a clinical setting.
New “3+2” program enables students to earn a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in respiratory care in 5 years
The School of Health Professions and the University of Texas at San Antonio in October launched a new program for undergraduate students interested in pursuing a master’s in respiratory care.
The Respiratory Care Early Acceptance Program (RCEAP) allows undergraduate UTSA students majoring in biology or kinesiology to receive conditional acceptance to UT Health San Antonio. Upon completing the program, students will have earned a bachelor of science in biology or kinesiology and a master’s in respiratory care.
First speech-language pathology cohort hit 100% rates for graduation, passing national exam and landing jobs
All 15 students in the first cohort of the speech-language pathology master’s program graduated on time, passed their national exam on the first try and landed jobs within two months of graduation.
Two-thirds of the class had lined up jobs before graduation, said Associate Professor Fang-Ling Lu, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, speech-language pathology program director and interim chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.
Professor elected president of Texas Physical Therapy Association
Michael Geelhoed, PT, DPT, Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Education was elected President of the Texas Physical Therapy Association (TPTA) in October.
Geelhoed previously has served TPTA as vice president, delegate-at-large and chief delegate, and he is president of the Texas PT Foundation. The election coincided with National PT Month.
“I chose to become a PT because I have always believed in healing the body through exercise,” he said.
Respiratory care students train PA studies students on mechanical ventilation
Second-year respiratory care students showed Physician Assistant Studies students how to use five different types of mechanical ventilators in training sessions held Oct. 21.
Mariana Castillo is one of five respiratory care students who provided the training to 46 first-year Physician Assistant Studies students. She trained students on the Servo-U ventilator, explained how to customize settings for different patients and provided patient scenarios.
PT professor chosen for selective grant-writing workshop
Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Gustavo Almeida, PT, Ph.D., has been selected to be a mentee of the Training in Grantsmanship for Rehabilitation Research (TIGGRR) 2020.
The four-day intensive grant-writing workshop and mentorship program will be held at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C., from Jan. 7–11.
OT students simulate telehealth therapy sessions
Occupational Therapy doctoral students this summer learned how to use telehealth to deliver therapy services.
Occupational Therapy Associate Professor Karin Barnes, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA, created the telehealth assignment as part of the Pediatric Service Delivery course she teaches for second-year OTD students. Forty-two students participated in the assignment.
Telehealth can help address challenges to providing occupational therapy services, such as transportation, work schedules and remote home or school locations.
Speech-language pathology program gains new faculty member
The Speech-Language Pathology master’s program welcomed a new faculty member in June.
Assistant Professor Casey Taliancich-Klinger, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, grew up bilingual in South Texas.
“I’ve always had an interest in language and communication, so I felt this was the right field for me,” she said.
Taliancich-Klinger earned a Ph.D. and master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology, as well as bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and Communication Sciences & Disorders, all from The University of Texas at Austin.
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